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loose54

1862 Halfpenny Die Letter C

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Hello all,

I bought an 1862 Halfpenny from the States and it arrived today. It was not photographed but the dealer was a member of the ANA etc and before I bought it I confirmed he had a refund policy. Anyway, it was sold to me as the very rare die letter C variety but I am struggling to see the die letter myself. I don't know if the seller was thinking it was the bulge next to the lighthouse or possibly below the lighthouse which I have circled. To me, the bulge to the left of the lighthouse seems to high to be the letter C and the circled 'C' looks too low and too far from the edge to me. What do you guys think?

post-7996-0-40783200-1406297342_thumb.jp

post-7996-0-84680300-1406297471_thumb.jp

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That isn't a letter by lighthouse variety. The C will be larger. The font size is the same for any of the letters, so if you find a better image it will give you the size and position too.

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Hello all,

I bought an 1862 Halfpenny from the States and it arrived today. It was not photographed but the dealer was a member of the ANA etc and before I bought it I confirmed he had a refund policy. Anyway, it was sold to me as the very rare die letter C variety but I am struggling to see the die letter myself. I don't know if the seller was thinking it was the bulge next to the lighthouse or possibly below the lighthouse which I have circled. To me, the bulge to the left of the lighthouse seems to high to be the letter C and the circled 'C' looks too low and too far from the edge to me. What do you guys think?

I would say it is not a "C" letter Half Penny...JMHO.. :)

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That was my feeling on the matter. I used that same photo for comparison earlier and thought the die letter in the real thing has the top in line with the base of the lighthouse which would place the bulge on my coin higher then it should be. Do you think its quite clear it isn't the die letter variety I was promised?

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That was my feeling on the matter. I used that same photo for comparison earlier and thought the die letter in the real thing has the top in line with the base of the lighthouse which would place the bulge on my coin higher then it should be. Do you think its quite clear it isn't the die letter variety I was promised?

I would say so - it just looks like a faint incuse C formation that's sort of vaguely near the right area, a complete coincidence and definitely not in any way conclusive.

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Doesn't seem to be the correct reverse for a Die Letter C...

No Die Letter = Reverse G (EXCEPT for a few VERY RARE specimens with Reverse E without Die Letter B)

Die Letter A (All Types) REVERSE G

Die Letter B REVERSE E

Die Letter C (All Types) REVERSE F

See images as follows

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useful.

I knew about the different reverses, but 2-3 different ones per letter?

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DIE LETTER A to RIGHT of LIGHTHOUSE

1862DieLetterAtoRIGHTofLHReverse.jpg

Good information Gary, thanks for posting!...

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useful.

I knew about the different reverses, but 2-3 different ones per letter?

I know of 3 letter positions for the Die Letter A (Reverse G): Two to the LEFT of the Lighthouse (one CLOSER to the RIM, the other CLOSER to the LIGHTHOUSE) and one to the RIGHT of the LIGHTHOUSE (UNLISTED in Freeman).

Only 1 letter position for the Die Letter B (Reverse E): To the LEFT of the Lighthouse...

And 2 letter positions for the Die Letter C (Reverse F): Both to the LEFT of the Lighthouse (one CLOSER to the RIM, the other CLOSER to the LIGHTHOUSE)

Edited by Bronze & Copper Collector

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Sorry to say, but who buys a coin (or rarity) without seeing a picture, crazy, and then the disc arrives and is'nt what its supposed to be, surprise surprise.

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In that condition, even with less doubt about it being a 'C' coin, I would have thrown it straight in the bin! I hope you get your money back for it.

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Here is an example of a SEVERELY ABUSED half penny that I had found, that was my first specimen of the Die Letter A to the Right of the Lighthouse... Being on a fixed income I was grateful that I had found this specimen, it's poor condition not withstanding.

The lines of the A, in my opinion, I believe are too clear despite the abuse to be anything else.... I would have to be convinced otherwise.

1862DieletterAtorightoflighthousemaybe60

1862DieletterAtorightoflighthousemaybe60

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I have purchased from the dealer before and have received coins as promised all OK. It seems in this case he got it wrong but I will receive a full refund so the only real risk was on being out of pocket for a couple of weeks. Also, if the coin was a clear confirmed die letter then it would have certainly been a good bargain for the price I paid for it. I would never personally 'throw a coin in the bin' because I believe it will always have some, if only minute, value to someone, somewhere. B&C Collector, thanks for all of the different reverses, are they all your coins?

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DIE LETTER A to RIGHT of LIGHTHOUSE

1862DieLetterAtoRIGHTofLHReverse.jpg

Good information Gary, thanks for posting!...

A privilege to help out......

Passing it forward....

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